Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) was forced to implement "load shedding (catuan)" in many districts for several hours from as early as 9am Monday due to the high demand for power by consumers.

It was learnt that several other residential areas along Jalan Bundusan Duta in Penampang were not spared as well, including Sandakan, Tawau, Beluran, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Beaufort, Sipitang, Kudat and other interior parts of Sabah.

A SESB spokesman, when contacted, said it had experienced low generation capacity throughout Sabah lately. "This was highlighted in the newspapers (referring to the Daily Express's front page under the heading 'My Power team to help out SESB next' on March 30) about the State's power woes," he said.

He said the load shedding had to be carried out to maintain system stability.

"This is necessary to prevent widespread outage from happening," he added.

He assured that such low power generation problem in Sabah would be overcome when the additional power plants Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd and SPR Energy (M) Sdn Bhd which have the capacity to generate 285 Megawatt (Mw) and 100 Mw respectively, are in operation.

"It is ready to be commissioned later this year," he said.

The spokesman was responding to many complaints from members of the public who bemoaned the sudden outages which lasted for more than an hour on March 31.

Many asked why they were not notified through the papers.

On a complaint from a member of the public why a control panel box was still lying on the road divider at Jalan Bundusan Duta despite the matter having been reported in the papers, he said it was not under its care.

Daily Express checked with the Penampang District Council and was told that the panel box is linked to the streetlights along that stretch of roads which is managed by the Public Works Department (PWD) and was told to ask the latter, instead.

Earlier, SESB said it had increased its standby teams to assist in dealing with the drastic increase in complaints on electricity supply disruption in the city.

Its Senior General Manager (Asset Management), Muhamad Nazri Pazil, said they have also deployed mobile gen-sets to reduce power disruption impact from repair works.

He said the power supply recovery works at several areas here took longer to complete as they also need to protect the public interest and safety.

A comprehensive inspection needs to be carried out to identify the actual cause for the power disruption before full recovery can be implemented, he said, adding priority for power recovery is also given to areas identified as having public safety risk apart from premises.

He said SESB has also increased maintenance activity to maintain sustainable supply.

He said consumers can contact SESB Hotline: 15454 or 088-515000 if they encounter a supply disruption problem, assuring them all complains will be channelled through the official complaint channel for immediate action.

Muhammad said this in response to the Daily Express report titled "Blackouts Blow To BN", apologising for the inconveniences suffered by consumers due to the power disruption problem.

He confirmed SESB received many complaints of power disruption from various consumers in the city and said they did the recovery works as fast as possible.